26. Chapter 26

Chapter twenty-six

T his is a million times better than the bunker. It is such a relief to be out of there. I feel like I can breathe again.

The woods are beautiful. Walking through them is so soothing. It feels restorative. Aside from my recent stint underground, there is a lot I have missed out on by being a city boy. Maybe I should start getting out in nature more. It’s pretty, if nothing else. The sky is heavy with cloud, but the bare tree branches are making striking patterns against the grey. And the air is so fresh and clean that it even tastes good. I could get used to this.

Mabon definitely seems at home here. I guess being a prince doesn’t make him any less fey, and they were always creatures of the forest in the old tales.

He is walking along gracefully, seemingly unhampered by his bare feet. He nodded when I asked if he could sense where the nearest town was and has been silently leading the way ever since.

This is almost nice. Almost companionable. Almost like we are a couple going for a walk. We just need a big bouncy dog. Though I imagine Mabon is more of a cat person. Which is fine. I like cats too.

“Oh no!” exclaims Mabon as he stops suddenly.

My heart rate increases tenfold and my gaze darts everywhere. My ears are straining. But I can’t find any enemies about to attack.

Mabon steps daintily to the side and runs his finger over a small tree branch that has been snapped. The tree is small, and therefore young, I think. Possibly a sapling. But what the hell do I know?

“You poor thing,” whispers Mabon.

Then he starts rummaging on the forest floor.

“What are you doing?” I ask in complete and utter bewilderment.

Mabon ignores me and continues to collect small twigs and old leaves. I stare at him in exasperation. We are on the run. Time is of the essence. But he is not going to listen to me.

I watch in resignation as he tenderly straightens the branch and splints it with the twigs and debris he has found. He steps back to admire his handiwork. Then he brushes his hands off, wipes them on his hospital gown and continues walking as if nothing happened.

I shake my head and follow him.

“Humans really do no longer care for the wild,” he comments. “You were custodians of all living things once.”

A strange guilt swirls through me along with a prickle of unease. A vague feeling, like I’ve forgotten something extremely important.

I shake the feeling off with a frown. Then Mabon wraps his arms around himself and shivers slightly. It’s winter. He is practically naked. I really am an asshole.

I unzip my hoodie and hand it to him. He raises one delicate eyebrow.

“A gift?”

I shrug. “Your warming spell is still working.”

He stares at me for a moment. Then he puts the black hoodie on and zips it up. We continue walking. The sight of him in my top is doing strange things to me, which is absurd. It’s not really even mine. The Resistance gave it to me and I’ve had it barely more than a day. It won’t smell of me or anything. Though, considering how fast and far I ran. Maybe it does. Mabon could be drowning in my scent right now.

My cock starts to stir. I ignore it with a scowl. There really is something seriously wrong with me.

We walk along in silence some more. Then the faint hum of traffic reaches my ears. It’s oddly disappointing, even though we can’t hide out in the woods forever.

We crest a small hill and the trees end a few hundred yards ahead. There is a gently rolling field and then a hedge and a small road. It twists out of view, but in the distance I can see a town. It looks a couple of miles away.

I look over at Mabon. If he pulled the hood up and kept his head down, he’d appear human enough for a cursory glance. But the hospital gown, bare legs and feet are going to cause more than a glance. And questions of their own, without anyone noticing that Mabon is fey.

“Okay, stay here. I’m going to go find you some clothes.”

He gives me an indecipherable look. Then he shrugs.

“Fine.”

He settles down by a tree, rests his back against it, and pulls his knees up. His arms wrap around his legs and he rests his chin on his knees.

I swallow. “I will come back. I won’t be long.”

“Obviously,” he huffs without looking at me.

Sighing heavily, I turn and walk away.

I t is getting dark by the time I return. Anxiety is already thrumming through me. Shoplifting was horrible. Hopefully, I’ll never have to do it again. It was made all the worst by my deep unease at leaving Mabon alone. Every minute felt like an hour.

And now I’ve finally made it back to the woods, only to find that he is not by the tree I left him sitting under.

Please, please let him be causing trouble and not actually in trouble. Better yet, please let him be bandaging up a tree or something else completely inane.

I step carefully through the trees. Calling out his name is bound to be a bad idea, for all sorts of reasons.

A glimmer of lavender catches my eye. It’s Mabon. Sitting under a different tree. Face to face with a fox. The fox’s ears twitch at my presence, then it lopes off. A flash of russet in the gloom.

“Did he have anything interesting to say?” I joke.

Mabon shrugs. “If you want to know where the good mice are.”

My lungs freeze for a moment. I force them to work again. I really cannot continue to get freaked out by every little thing. I’m about to cross the country with Mabon. I’ve been amongst fey for, I don’t even know how long ago it was that Mabon took me. Time has ceased to have any meaning. But the point is, I should be used to weirdness by now.

Wordlessly, I hand Mabon my plastic bag of pilfered clothes. He takes it gracefully.

“More gifts? At this rate, I’m going to have to give you my firstborn.”

I chuckle and shake my head. “You don’t need to do that.”

Mabon flows to his feet. “You don’t want my firstborn?”

I open my mouth, but no sound comes out.

“You are rejecting my firstborn? How dare you! They will be as beautiful as I am!”

Is that a trick of the light or is rage really making his eyes burn? Regardless, pissing Mabon off is a bad idea. It’s time consuming, if nothing else.

I hold up my hands. “I’m sorry! You are right. Your firstborn will be beautiful. I would be honoured.”

He glares at me for a moment longer. Then he sniffs disdainfully. “I don’t want to give you a child, anyway.”

I suck in a deep breath. “We need to get going. Put the clothes on.” I think a change of conversation is for the best, otherwise I’m only going to dig myself into an even deeper hole.

Mabon sniffs again and tosses his head, but he starts pulling clothes out of the bag. He holds up a pair of briefs.

“You may dress me. Human clothes are bizarre.”

The look he gives me is sly and conniving. He is such a little pervert. But his little ruse to get me near his junk isn’t fooling me.

I shake my head. “You can figure it out.”

His lips purse but he sees I’m onto him. He sighs dramatically and starts stepping into the underwear. I turn around.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“Giving you privacy.”

He laughs. A melodic peal that rings out in the woods. I stiffen my shoulders and I don’t turn around.

“You’ve seen my body,” he drawls seductively.

My fists clench.

“You’ve sucked on my cock,” he says sweetly.

I bite my tongue.

“You’ve been inside me.”

“All right!” I snap loudly. “Just put the bloody clothes on!”

He sniggers, but I hear rustling. He is finally getting dressed. Thank fuck for that.

“My lovely body is covered,” he announces mockingly.

I take a deep, fortifying breath and turn around. There is a stranger in front of me. I yelp, stagger backwards, trip over a root and land on my ass. What the hell?

The stranger stares at me as if I’m behaving oddly. He is wearing the hoodie I gave Mabon. And the jeans and trainers I stole. He is the same height and build as Mabon. Maybe a little bit shorter.

His face is like Mabon’s, but softer, rounder. The sharp angles of fey features melded into human. His shiny blond hair is up in the same messy plait I gave Mabon. Mabon’s horns are long gone, so there is no change there.

His eyes are a dazzling blue. The pupils round and not slitted. But they are definitely Mabon’s eyes.

Oh lord, he looks so heartbreakingly young like this. I don’t think he has changed the appearance of his age, it’s simply that my brain can interpret human features better. I never thought he was old, but he never seemed this young to me. This man standing before me looks twenty-one at the most. A good five years younger than me.

“Mabon?”

He tilts his head. “What? This is better for travelling amongst humans, no?”

“I…um…yes.”

This is going to make things so much easier. Fey have invaded, but there are not many of them and they tend to stick to their places of power. Boardrooms and palaces. They certainly don’t mingle with the general public. And while most humans haven’t joined the Resistance, fey aren’t exactly popular. Add in the Resistance hunting us, and we really are up shit creek.

Mabon looking human has increased our chances of actually making it. By a thousand fold.

“But I thought you couldn’t use your magic?” I say and I hate how much my voice is shaking.

Human-looking Mabon rolls his eyes. “Human minds are so simple. The amount of magic needed to sway them is teeny tiny.”

He holds up his thumb and forefinger, like someone demonstrating the size of someone’s very small cock.

“No one is going to feel that!” he declares.

I stare at him and then release my breath. Heaven help me. My gaze roams all over this new Mabon. Well, new in appearance. He in himself is exactly the same.

As my mind fully takes in Mabon in human form, my blood begins to heat and my palms start to sweat. Oh my. He really is quite something. His looks in a human shape? Absolutely stunning. Humans don’t normally look this good. It is doing funny things to my brain. And other parts of me.

“Could you…um…maybe,” I stutter. “Make yourself less pretty?”

He draws himself up to his full height. His hands go to his hips. Indignant rage flashes in his bright blue eyes. “You want me to be ugly?” he screeches. His emphasis on the word ugly makes it sound as if ugly is the word for the greatest evil in all the universes.

I hold my hands up in surrender again. “No, you’re right. I’m sorry. It’s going to draw attention, but we can deal with that.”

He huffs and moves his hands from his hips. His eyes narrow, then he smiles. “You think I’m pretty like this?”

“Yes,” I admit in defeat.

A beaming smile spreads across Mabon’s beautiful face. It lights up his eyes. “Good.”

Oh lord. London suddenly seems so very, very far away.